One of my favorite radio shows is Radiolab, which always presents the listener with an interesting scientific question from across the board. In a recent rerun, Radiolab discussed Stochasticity. Something struck me as odd...
Assume the following thought experiment: The Earth circling the Sun at a cozy distance of 1 AU (around 150 million km) suddenly stands still and doesn't move anymore. The only force left on the Earth is now the Sun's gravitational pull. How long will it be until we crash into the Sun?
